The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1887-07-07

7 was the youngest of a large family of |
children. Ny parents were neither rich |
nor poor; four of the sons wanted cOllegi- |
ate education, and four obtained it, bat /
not without great home struggle We |
never heard the old people say once that |
they were denying themselves to effect |
this, h,jt I remember now that my parents |
always looked tired. I don't think they |
ever got rested until they lay down in |
the SoHerville cemetery. Mother would |
sit down in the evening and say: 'Weu, |
DON'T know what makes me feel so |
tiredr' Father would fall Immediately !
to sleep, seated by the evening stand,
overcome with the days fatigues. One
of the four brothers, after preaching the
gospel for about fifty years, entered upon
his heavenly rest. Another of the four is
on the other side of the earth, a mission
airy of the cross. Two of us are in this
land in the holy ministry, and think all
of us are willing to acknowledge our OBJ
legation TO the Old folks at home. About
twenty-one years ago the one, and about
twenty-three years ago the other, put
down the burdens of this life, but they
still hold the rope.
O. men and women here assembled,
you brag sometimes how you have fought
your way in the world, but / think there
have been helpful influences that you have
never fully acknowledged. Has there
not been some influence in your early or
present home that the world cannot see?
Does there not reach to you from among
the New England hills, or from western
prairie, or from southern plantation, or
from English or Scottish OF Irish home a
cord Of influence that has kept you right
when you would have gone astray, and
j.. H.
track, recalled you? The rope may be as
long as thirty years, or FIVE hundred
miles long, or three thousand miles long,
but hands that went out of mortal sight
long ago still hold the rope. You want
very swift horse, and ySu need to rOwel
him with sharpest spurs, and to let the
reins lie loose upon the neck, and to give
a shout to the racer if you are going to
ride out of reach of your mothers pray
ers. Why, ship crossing the Atlantic
in six days can't sail away from that A
sailor finds them on the lookout as he
| takes his place, and finds them on the
mast as he climbs the ratlines to olsen
tangle rope in the tempest, and finds
them swinging ON the hammock when he
| turns in. Why not be frank and ac-
knowledge 1.-THE most of us would long
ago have been dashed to pieces had not
| gracious and loving hands steadily, low
ingly and nightly held the rope.
But there must come time when VI!
shall find out who these Damascenes wete
who lowered Paul in the basket, and greet
them and all those who have rendered tC
| God and the world unrecognized and un-
| recorded services. That is going to be
one of the glad excitements of heaven
! the hunting up and picking out of those
| h., n5,ea CrOt Tlf
credit for it. Here the church has beer
! going on for nineteen centuries, and yet
! the world has not recognized the services
| of the people IN that Damascus balcony.
! Charles G. Finney said to a dying Chris
tian: EtGive my lCTe to ST. Paul when
! you meet him. When you and meet
| him, as we viii, shall ask him to intro
| duce me to those people who got him out
Of the Damascene peril.
We go into long sermons to prove that
we viii be able TO recognize people il
heaven when there is one reason we fail
| to present, and that is better than all
God will introduce us. We shall have
them all pointed out. You would not be
| guilty of the impOliteness Of having
friends in your parlOr not introduced, and
! celestial politeness will demand that we
| be made acquainted with all the heavenly
! household. What rehearsal of old times
and recital of stirring "reminiscences! II
| others fail to give Introduction, God viii
take us through, and before our first
twenty-four hours in heaven--if it were
calculated by earthly timepieces-have
passed, we shall meet and talk with more
| heavenly celebrities than in our entire
mortal state we met with earthly celebri-
| ties. Many who made great noise of use
! fulness will sit on the last seat by the
front door of the heavenly temple, while
| right up within arms reach of the heav-
emily throne VIII be many who, though
they could not preach themselves or dc
great exploits for God, nevertheless held
the rope,
Come, let us go right up and accost
those on this circle of heavenly thrones.
Surely they must have killed in battle a
million men. Surely they must have
been buried with all the cathedrals sound
nag d dirge and all the towers of all the
cities tolling the national grief. Who art
thou, mighty one of heaven? u lived by
choice the unmarried daughter in an hum
BILE home that / might take care of my
parents in their old age, and l endured
without complaint all their querulousness
and administered to all their wants for
twenty years"
Let us pass on round the circle CI
thrones. Who art thou, mighty one OF
heaYen2 Il was for thirty years a Chris
tian invalid, and suffered all the while,
occasionally writing note OF sympathy
for those worse off than |, and was gen
eral confident of all those who had trou-
bic, and OnCe ia a while l was strong
enough to make a garment for that pOol
family in the back lane" Pass on tC
another throne. Who art thou, mighty
one of heaven? ~ was the mother whC
raised whole family of children for God
ana they are out in the world Christian
merchants, Christian mechanics, Chris
tian wives, and l have ha1 fall reward
of all my TOLL Let us pass on in the
circle of thrones. II had a Sabbath
school class, and they were always on my
heart and they all entered the kingdom o.
God, and l am waiting for their arrival. ,
But who art thou, the mighty one o
heaven on this other throne? "In time o
bitter persecution l owned q house i'll Da
mascus, a house on the wall. A man wht
preached Christ was bounded from street Il
street and hid him from the assassins, an(
when | found them breaking in my hOus
and l could no longer keep him safely,
advised him to flee for his life and bas
ket was let down over the wall with tn
, maltreated man in it and I was one VIII
helped hold the rope" And I said: 81
that alI?'' And he answered: THAT j
: all" And while / was lost in amaze
= ment heard a strong voice that sounde
as though it might once have been hoars
from many exposures and triumphant a
though it might have belonged to one Q
| the martyrs. and it said: Not man
2 mighty, not many noble are called, bu
p: Sod hath chosen the weak things Of tn
I world to confound the things which ar
mighty, aud base things of the world an
things which are despised hath Go
chosen, yea, and things which are not
y bring to naught things which are, that n
T. desh should glory in His presence" An
B. | looked to see from whence the voiC
r. come, and 10, it was the very one VIII
T had said: Through a window in a baskt
. was / let down by the wall"
t Henceforth think of nothing as insigni
l Icant. A little thing may decide your al
4 A Cunarder put ont from England f
New York. 1t was well equipped, but
49,, sJ,+I I,xNx~